WEEK 1 – May 27 – June 2, 2010 – 0 weeks old

I was BORN at 2:07 a.m. on May 27th, which was EXACTLY the day that was projected! Only 2% of the population do this. I just didn’t want to be late, but oh how much I didn’t want to poke my head out into the world!! It’s a scary and bright place, you know! But, after about a day and a half of my Mom having contractions, pain, and being in the hospital, I thought I should give Mom a break (she was being so darned pushy – literally!), and I stuck my head out. I came out with a full head of hair (it’s RED!) and big sparkling blue eyes, which I like to keep shut most of the time…I LOOOVE to sleep! I weighed 7 lbs exactly. Sissy Megan, Uncles Kevin & Tommy were at the hospital for my birth. Daddy was in the room and cut my umbilical cord!

In case you don’t know, I got an extra chromosome in the deal of life. Isn’t that interesting? They call this Trisomy 21, or Down Syndrome…I just call it an extra chromosome and don’t think much about it. But because of that, I got some special doctors to come see me and got a little extra lovin’ from the nurses in the hospital.

Speaking of doctors, I got to spend a lot of time with the doctors this week. I have a little trouble regulating my temperature (my hands and feet turn blue! ), so we got to go under heating lamps. Also, I had my first pediatric echocardiogram. This was to check on my heart. There are a couple of small holes, and a valve that leaks and causes a murmur, but overall, the prognosis is really good. The doctor thinks the holes should close on their own…we’ll go back to see him at 4 months old to check. Finally, I also got to meet an Occupational Therapist. Unfortunately, one of the things that comes with my extra chromosome is something they call hypotonia – where you don’t have great muscle tone. SO…I don’t have a great suck for eating (and I don’t really like to stay awake to do it!), so the OT was working with me and showing my Mom and Dad some exercises to help strengthen my mouth. (Other than that, my muscle tone appears to be pretty good – as Mom can attest to due to my incessant kicking in-utero!)

Mom’s trying to breastfeed, but because of my muscle tone and sleepiness, she’s meeting with some frustration and is having to pump and use a syringe to get some food into me. I’ve lost almost a pound and I guess that means I’ll have to keep going back to the pediatrician – Dr. Patulot (I met her this week too…very nice lady!) until I’m showing signs of progress. One thing the pediatrician DID have me do was start on tummy time. I don’t mind it too much…mostly, I just sleep!

Visitors this week: Uncle Kevin, Uncle Tommy, Uncle Allan & Aunt Barbara, Leia, Jaeden & Tyson, Justin, Aunt Rachel Lott, the Olmsteds (Kim, Paul, Rachel & Sarah!), Grampa Ward, Grammy Chris, Uncle Connor. :) I LOVE YOU ALL!